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README.txt

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GENERAL INFORMATION
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Manuscript Information
Article Title: "Investment Without Return? Individual Out-of-State Contributions to US Direct Democracy Campaigns"
Author: Madison Schroder

Software Information
R Version: R 4.4.2
Operating System: Mac

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Dataset Documentation
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This file provides descriptions of all files contained in the Dataverse Dataset
for replicating the analysis in "Investment Without Return? Individual 
Out-of-State Contributions to US Direct Democracy Campaigns."


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PRIMARY DATA FILES
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state_bm_contributions.RData
    Complete dataset of all contributions to direct democracy campaigns.
    Variables: contributor_name, amount, state (donor), bm_state (ballot measure state),
              year, ballot_measure, EntityType, position, subject_narrowed.

out_of_state_data.RData
    Subset of contributions where donor state != ballot measure state
    Variables: Same as state_bm_contributions.RData with additions including income, subject_narrowed (re-coded policy types), population, and is_bordering (whether the state borders the bm_state)
    

out_of_state_data_ind.RData
    Individual out-of-state contributions only (EntityType == "Individual")
    Variables: Same as state_bm_contributions.RData with additions including income, subject_narrowed (re-coded policy types), population, and is_bordering (whether the state borders the bm_state)


state_bm_contributions_controls.RData
    Original dataset with the added variables discussed above. Used only in Appendix C. 

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REFERENCE AND CLASSIFICATION FILES
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DD_threshold_tracker.RData
    Campaign finance disclosure thresholds by state
    Purpose: Table A1, understanding data collection limitations

subjects_df.RData
    Policy type classifications and subject matter categorizations
    Variables: Subject (original classification), subject_narrowed (aggregated)
    Observations: ~350 unique policy subjects
    Purpose: Table C1, policy area analysis

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REPLICATION FILES
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replication_code.R
    Complete R script to reproduce all figures, tables, and statistical tests
    Dependencies: See library() calls at top of script
    Input: All .RData files listed above
    Output: All figures and tables from the published paper
    
    Code Structure:
    - Data loading and preprocessing
    - Table 1: Summary statistics
    - Figure 1: Trends over time
    - Figure 2: Donor type comparison
    - Figure 3: Contribution size distribution
    - Figure 4: Policy type analysis
    - Figure 5: Geographic and income patterns
    - Figure 6: Consistency analysis
    - Tables 3-6: Theory testing
    - Appendix tables and figures

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VARIABLE DEFINITIONS
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Key Variables:

contributor_name: Name of individual or organization making contribution
amount: Contribution amount in nominal dollars
state: Two-letter code for donor's state of residence
bm_state: Two-letter code for state where ballot measure appears
year: Year of election/contribution
ballot_measure: Unique identifier for specific ballot measure
EntityType: "Individual" or Non-Individual
position: "Support" or "Oppose" the ballot measure
subject_narrowed: Policy area classification (20 categories)
income: ZIP code median household income from ACS Data
